The Prince George Spruce Kings haven’t had an answer for the Chilliwack Chiefs this season, which makes them the perfect opponent for a Saturday night (7 p.m.) meeting at Prospera Centre.
The Chiefs need to end a four game losing skid.
And what better opponent than the Sprucies, a team they’ve beaten in six of six head-to-head meetings this year.
The domination has been thorough.
Once, PG forced the Chiefs to overtime.
Beyond that, the margin of victory has been two goals or better in each win. Chilliwack has collectively outscored the Sprucies 25-8.
But it’s not the goals against that has concerned PG coach Dave Dupas.
It’s his team’s inability to score goals.
“The frustrating thing is that the guys just played well all weekend. They really did,” Dupas said following a late-January back-to-back in Prince George. “It was a tough, hard-fought series. Besides saying to them, ‘guys, you’ve got to score more,’ what else can we do?”
PG’s biggest problem has been Chiefs goalie Mitch Gillam, who has shut out the Spruce Kings twice.
It’s not often a coach admits a goalie may be affecting his team psychologically, but Dupas hinted at it.
“They have a good goalie and maybe he’s in our heads and stuff like that,” Dupas told the Prince George Free Press. “But the fact of the matter is that we have to score.”
Gillam hasn’t been quite as good lately, but the weekend should offer a chance to regain confidence.
After PG, Chilliwack hosts a middle-of-the-pack offence Sunday when the Alberni Valley Bulldogs hit town (note the 5 p.m. start).
The Chiefs are on the road Monday, facing the Coquitlam Express, a team that traded all of its offensive players away at the trade deadline.
Catch a wrapup in the Tuesday Progress sports section.
